Harvard welcomes pair of Ivy League foes to the MAC for a weekend double-header (OAC).

Story Line The Harvard women’s volleyball team returns to Ivy League play this weekend when it welcomes Princeton and Penn to the Malkin Athletic Center. The Crimson and Tigers will first face off on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. before the Quakers venture to Cambridge for a 5 p.m. showdown on Saturday, Sept. 29.

A live video stream and live stats will be available for both matches this weekend through GoCrimson.com by clicking here.

Last Time Out Senior captain Taylor Docter notched a double-double with 13 kills and 20 digs to help the Harvard women's volleyball team defeat Holy Cross, 25-17, 25-11, 15-25, 25-19, Tuesday at the Malkin Athletic Center.

The Hitters Harvard’s offense has been bookended by experience, with senior captain Taylor Docter and freshman Kathleen Wallace leading the way. Docter owns a team-best 3.00 kps average, good for second in the Ivy League, while Wallace ranks eighth in the conference with 2.63 kps and a .281 hitting percentage. Sophomore Erin Cooney is third on the squad with 2.00 kps and Caroline Walters (1.86 kps) boasts a team best .380 hitting percentage, the fourth highest in the Ancient Eight.

Setting it Up Senior Beth Kinsella and freshman Hannah Schmidt have shared the setting duties as the team has shifted into a 6-2 offensive system. Kinsella has dished out 217 assists for an average of 5.43 per set, while Schmidt has tallied 193 assists for a 4.60 average.

On the Block Middle blockers Teresa Skelly, Caroline Walters and Caroline Holt have helped Harvard average 2.29 bps, good for second in the Ivy League. Walters leads the team with 43 total blocks while her 1.00 bps is ranks sixth in the conference. Holte ranks a close second with 37 total blocks and an average of 0.86 bps with Skelly chipping in 21 total blocks and 0.88 bps in limited action.

Keep an Eye Out For… Beth Kinsella, Taylor Docter and Teresa Skelly each have a chance to make their marks on the Harvard record books this season. Kinsella currently ranks sixth all-time with 1,454 assists and has averaged 7.31 aps for her career. Docter has moved to eighth in career aces (90) while her career 2.59 kps are good for ninth. She is also less than 100 kills shy of joining Harvard’s all-time top 10 with 828. Skelly, meanwhile, is just six block assists (178) short of entering the program’s top 10 and needs 35 total blocks (204) to join that list as well.

Scouting Princeton (4-7, 1-0 Ivy League) Princeton improved to 4-7 on the year and 1-0 in the Ivy League after topping Penn, 3-2, in its conference opener. Lydia Rudnick ranks first in the Ivy League with 3.91 kps while her 2.50 dps are good for second on the team. Kendall Peterkin has notched 2.89 kps and 2.26 dps, with Nicole Kincade adding 2.29 kps and a .329 hitting percentage. Kincade also ranks second in the Ivy League with 1.32 bps.

Harvard dropped both matches against the Tigers a year ago. Taylor Docter averaged 3.56 kps and 1.56 dps in those matches, while Kristen Casey contributed 2.00 kps and 2.33 dps.

Scouting Penn (5-7, 0-1 Ivy League) Penn has dropped two straight five-set matches, including its Ivy League opener against Princeton, to fall to 5-7 on the year. Emma White leads the team with 2.79 kps while her 4.88 dps is good for second on the squad. Kristen Etterbeek has registered 2.57 kps, with Lauren Martin and Susan Stuecheli adding 2.28 kps and 2.00 kps, respectively. The defensive has been bolstered by Dani Shepherd’s 6.61 dps and Stuecheli’s 1.08 bps.

Harvard earned the season sweep of Penn last year, marking just the second time the Crimson has ever swept the Quakers and first since 2004. Taylor Docter, Kristen Casey and Teresa Skelly led both the offensive and defensive efforts in those wins, with Docter notching a team-best 3.00 kps and 2.11 dps. Casey contributed 2.89 kps, 4.78 dps and 1.00 bps while Skelly added 2.22 kps and 1.11 bps.

Double Trouble Senior Taylor Docter and freshman Hannah Schmidt have combined for eight double-doubles this season. Docter boasts six of those with her last being a 13-kill, 20-dig performance versus Holy Cross. Schmidt notched a double-double in back-to-back matches against Boston College and New Hampshire, including a 15-assist, 12-dig effort versus the Wildcats.

Block Party Harvard recorded 11 blocks against Holy Cross, marking the third straight match and fourth time overall that the team has combined for double-digit blocks. Harvard is averaging 2.36 bps during this run.

Caroline Weaver has been instrumental to the Crimson’s success on the front line during this stretch and has set a career-high in total blocks in each of the team’s last two matches. She first registered six total blocks, including three solo, at Dartmouth before notching eight block assists against Holy Cross.

Career Night Taylor Docter set a new career-high with 23 kills at Dartmouth and finished the evening hitting .284 on 67 attempts with just four errors. Docter’s 23 kills are the second most for any Crimson student-athlete since 2008, with Kathryn McKinley’s ’09 total of 26 at Yale in 2008 topping the list.

Serving it Up Taylor Docter matched her career-high with five aces at New Hampshire, marking the fourth time the senior has tallied five in a single match. Docter’s five aces were also the second-highest total of any Crimson since 2008, with Katherine Kocurek’s ’10 six aces at Dartmouth in 2008 leading the way.

Hitting it Home Harvard registered a .474 hitting percentage against Providence, by far the highest hitting percentage of the season recorded by an Ivy League school. The Crimson converted 40 kills against the Friars on 78 attempts while only committing three errors. Caroline Walters hit a match-high .750 (6-0-8) while Kathleen Wallace hit .667 (12-0-18), the second-highest individual hitting percentage with a minimum of 10 attempts in the Ancient Eight this season. Caroline Holte (7-1-10) and Jennifer Shults (4-0-7) also got in on the action, hitting .600 and .571, respectively.

Harvard last hit .400 for a match on Sept. 27, 2008, when the squad combined for a .456 hitting percentage (35-4-68) in a 3-0 win over St. Francis (Pa.).

All-Tourney Senior co-captain Taylor Docter was been named to both the Hokie Invitational and Harvard Invitational all-tournament teams this season. She was joined on the Harvard Invitational All-Tournament Team by freshman Kathleen Wallace and sophomore Caroline Walters, while Kristen Casey was named to the New England Challenge All-Tournament Team, marking the first all-tourney honor of each of their careers.

Captain of the Ship Senior Taylor Docter was voted by her teammates as the 59th captain of Harvard women’s volleyball. Docter was an All-Ivy League second team and Academic All-Ivy honoree in 2011 after ranking eighth in the conference in kills per set (3.05), seventh in aces (0.27) and seventh in points per set (3.52). The Los Altos, Calif., native also averaged 1.72 dps on the defensive side of the net and finished her year with career-highs in kills, attempts, hitting percentage and digs.

"Taylor has been an impact player since her freshmen season," Head Coach Jen Weiss commented. "She came in this preseason in great shape and ready to work hard. As a second team All-Ivy outside hitter, she led our team in points scored and kills per set. She has a natural ability to lead and her peers respect her on and off the court. Taylor's composure on court has been tremendous this year and I look forward to her leading the team."

Platinum Anniversary Head coach Jen Weiss is in her 20th season at the helm of the Crimson. Weiss owns a 243-285 record on the sidelines and guided Harvard to its only Ivy League championship in 2004. She has mentored 46 All-Ivy honorees, five Ivy League Rookie of the Year recipients and coached the program’s first two-time Ivy League Player of the Year in Kaego Ogbechie ’05.

Catch the Crimson in 2012 Harvard will host 11 home matches at the Malkin Athletic Center this season and each will be streamed live online through GoCrimson.com. Fans can also watch each match On Demand approximately two hours after completion. One-year subscriptions are available for $49.95 and allow access to every home event streamed by the Crimson, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey and men’s soccer. For more information or to sign up today, click here.